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How Pope Francis Sees Education

Luiz Fernando Klein, SJ - La civiltà Cattolica - Mon, May 22nd 2023

How Pope Francis Sees Education

The concept of school

Francis considers schools as being free of geographical boundaries and walls.[1] He calls each school “a platform for drawing close to children and young people” (CV 221). Indeed, a school is not an end in itself;  it is a platform, a support area that serves as a base for other operations. Schools  are also “privileged places of personal development” (ibid.).

The school is not enclosed within boundaries and schedules;  it goes beyond them. Addressed to the surrounding reality and to the world, it offers an educational program  for the whole of life. Pope Francis recently reflected a broader vision of the school in his video message for the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Latin American Federation of Colleges of the Society of Jesus (FLACSI).[2] In it, he listed eight desires for schools of the Society of Jesus: 1) that Jesuit schools form hearts convinced of the mission for which they were created; 2) that they be welcoming schools, in which one can heal one’s own wounds and those of others; 3) that they be schools with doors that are really open, not only in words, where the poor can enter and where one can go out to meet the poor; 4) that they not retreat into a selfish elitism, but learn to live together with everyone, be places where fraternity is lived; 5) that they teach their pupils  to discern, to read the signs of the times, to read their own lives  as a gift to be grateful for and to share; 6) that they  have a critical attitude toward the models of development, production and consumerism that are pushing inexorably towards inevitable  harm; 7)  that they have a conscience and foster conscious awareness ; 8) that they are  schools of disciples and missionaries.

Francis considers education under a triple aspect. First and foremost, it is an act of love, because it generates life in its multidimensionality; it removes people from self-centeredness; it helps them to enter into confidence with their interiority, to put potential into action, to open themselves to transcendence, to help the discarded ones  of the globalizing society. For the pope, “education is a dynamic reality;  it is a movement that brings people to light.”[3] “I am convinced,” Francis says in Laudato Si’, “that change is impossible without motivation and a process of education” (LS 15).

Education is also an act of hope, which helps to break the vicious circle of skepticism, disbelief, and restriction within conceptions and attitudes contrary to the dignity of the human being. Francis does not tire of exhorting us not to lose hope. He addresses this appeal to various categories of people, because “a globalization bereft of hope or vision can easily be conditioned by economic interests, which are often far removed from a correct understanding of the common good, and which readily  give rise to social tensions, economic conflicts and abuses of power.”[4]

Finally, education is a factor that humanizes the world, because it helps people to transcend  individualism, to appreciate differences, to discover fraternity, to be responsible for the environment. It is “the natural antidote to an individualistic culture that at times degenerates into a veritable  cult of the self and the primacy of indifference.”[5]

The pope condemns those  conceptions of the educational process that are incompatible with the contemporary world. He rejects the hegemony of  content that unfortunately is still present in many schools, and affirms: “To educate is not only to transmit concepts; this is  an inheritance of the Enlightenment that must be overcome.”[6] Education cannot be nominalist; it cannot be limited to transmitting to the student only the “contents of notions, in a way that does not focus on the entire human dimension, because the person, in order to feel like a person, must feel, must think, must integrate these three very simple languages: the language of the mind, of the heart and of the hands.”[7] The mere transmission of content as an educational principle  is outdated, the pope points out,[8] because “formal education has become impoverished due to the legacy of positivism. It conceives only an intellectualist mode and the language of the head. Because of this, it has become  impoverished ”[9]

The pontiff also speaks out against any attempt to separate spiritual formation from cultural formation, under the pretext that study is useless if it does not concern reality. He asserts: “No, education makes us raise questions, keeps us from being anesthetized by banality, and impels us to pursue meaning in life” (CV 223). Any school that does not strive to “promote a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature” (LS 215) will be ineffective and will limit itself to re-presenting  the pattern of a consumerist life.

Reading modern times leads the pope to enumerate five factors that threaten education.[10] First of all, there is an educational inequity, an “educational catastrophe,” which sees 260 million children deprived of any education, due to lack of resources, wars and migration. The wealth of the world’s 50 richest people would be enough to provide medical care and education for every poor child.[11]

Second, the progress that governments today plan to make to improve education, presented in the 2030 Agenda and the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, is known, but ultimately  insufficient. A rift has  occurred between the bodies that should jointly take on the task: state, family and society.[12]

Third, the pope believes that one of the main difficulties facing education today is the “deconstruction of humanism,” due to individualism, indifference, the dictatorship of results, educational elitism, and “rapidification.” The latter is a neologism  that Francis coined to denounce the existence of a “vortex of speed,” which is “constantly changing the points of reference.”[13]

The fourth factor that threatens education is the ambiguity of the technological age. The uncontrolled and uncritical use of digital resources and the abundance of stimuli and attractive images alter the relationships between human beings, causing disintegration of the person, loss of identity, a poor sense of  interiority and a closure to transcendence. The pope affirms: “Today there is a tendency toward neo-positivism, that is, to educate in immanent things, to the value of immanent things, and this is true both in countries of Christian tradition and in countries of pagan tradition. This is not introducing children into total reality, for transcendence is missing. For me, the greatest crisis in education, from the Christian perspective, is this closure to transcendence.”[14]

Finally, another element that destabilizes education is the breakdown of the educational pact between school, family, institutions and society. Pope Francis has strongly deplored this on several occasions. Since those who should take on educational responsibility together fail to do so and delegate it to the teacher, as a result, education becomes selective, elitist, discriminating. “It seems,” says the pope, “that only peoples or persons who have a certain level of ability have a right to education, but certainly not all children.  All young people have a right to education. This is a worldwide reality that makes us ashamed. It is a reality that leads us toward a human selectivity, and that instead of bringing peoples closer together, distances them; it also distances the rich from the poor; it distances one culture from another.”[15]

In the encyclicals and apostolic exhortations of Pope Francis there are about eighty brief references to education. The pontiff develops these four themes more extensively: education in values, education in faith, education in sexuality, and ecological education.

In the exhortation Amoris Laetitia, in addition to various references in the text, the pope devotes a specific chapter to education, “Strengthening the Education of Children” (Nos. 259-290). In it he addresses various aspects: education of the will; development of good habits and affective inclination in favor of the good; ethical formation; gradual appropriation of values; balanced education in discipline and self-control; family life as an educational context; positive and prudent sexual education; education in faith.

For Francis, education in values must present the end desired as an attractive and attainable  good, rather than emphasizing the more challenging aspects of effort and renunciation (cf. AL 265). Learning and persevering in the process of appropriation of values lead the students, in relation to age, to mature habits that are the foundation of appropriate behavior. Freedom must be encouraged and transformed into an interior and stable principle of “acting well.” In this way, says the pope, “The virtuous life thus builds, strengthens and shapes freedom, lest we become slaves of dehumanizing and antisocial inclinations” (AL 267).

Education in the faith is the prerogative and mission of the family, which receives from the Church the support it needs to realize this task and to devote itself to it with fervor. Grandparents, with their wisdom, can make a decisive contribution to this mission (cf. AL 192).

Francis does not refer to the content of education in the faith, because he sees it above all as a transmission of the family experience of prayer and missionary commitment. “Handing on the faith presumes that parents themselves genuinely trust God, seek him and sense their need for him, for only in this way does ‘one generation laud your works to another, and declare your mighty acts’” (AL 287). Family catechesis is not dogmatic and proselytizing, but flexible, respectful of the freedom and existential situation of the children. In the case of young people, it is better to invest in their energy and educate them to take responsibility, rather than impose rules (cf. CV 233).

Francis notes with regret that “sexual education is taken too lightly” (AL 285). It is necessary, he says, that it be positive and prudent, all the more so in a cultural context that tends to impoverish and trivialize it, to reduce it to recipes for “safe sex” (cf. AL 280; 283). Consequently, “young people should not be deceived into confusing two levels of reality: ‘sexual attraction creates, for the moment, the illusion of union, yet, without love, this ‘union’ leaves strangers as far apart as they were before’” (AL 284).

The pope also offers a reflection on gender identity, explaining that male and female are not rigid categories, but that at the same time we cannot “separate” them from God’s creative work, “prior to all our decisions and experiences, and where biological elements exist which are impossible to ignore” (AL 286).

Another theme Francis dwells on is ecological or environmental education, which cannot be limited to scientific information or the prospect of reducing costs and preventing environmental risks. In the encyclical Laudato Si’ there is a chapter dedicated to this theme, entitled “Ecological Education and Spirituality” (Nos. 202-245). The pope points out how necessary it is for humanity to change its mentality and way of acting, and proposes education as a practical and indispensable foundation: “An awareness of the gravity of today’s cultural and ecological crisis must be translated into new habits. Many people know that our current progress and the mere amassing of things and pleasures are not enough to give meaning and joy to the human heart, yet they feel unable to give up what the market sets before them” (LS 209).

It is necessary to create an “ecological citizenship” (LS 211) that does not limit itself to transmitting information, but helps to form the conscience of society so that it opposes utilitarian pragmatism, pays attention to the beauty of the world and loves it, practices responsible austerity, and takes care of the fragility of the poor and the environment (cf. LS 214). In order to overcome behaviors that damage the environment we must aim at a change of mentality, and this task is proper to schools. In fact, education will be ineffective and its efforts will be sterile if it does not also concern itself with spreading a new model regarding the human being, life, society and the relationship with nature: “Otherwise, the paradigm of consumerism will continue to advance, with the help of the media and the highly effective workings of the market” (LS 215).

In the exhortation Querida Amazonia Francis recommends an integral ecology, one that privileges education over technical considerations, which are useless “unless people are changed, unless they are encouraged to opt for another style of life, one less greedy and more serene, more respectful and less anxious, more fraternal” (QA 58).

In his main writings, Pope Francis also discusses critical education (cf. EG 64), education about the emotions (cf. AL 148), education about fraternity (cf. AL 194), and education about memory (cf. AL 193).

Regarding the poor, the pope, in his apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia, emphasizes that they must be offered the education necessary to develop their capacities and initiatives. There  must be an adequate education that leads the educators to “cultivate without uprooting, to foster growth without weakening identity, to be supportive without being invasive” (QA 28).

Among the educational proposals that the pope addresses most thoroughly in his encyclicals and exhortations, that of the educating family, developed in the encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Amoris Laetitia, stands out.

In Laudato Si’ Francis speaks of the meaning and role of the family. This is “the place where life, the gift of God, can be properly welcomed and protected” (LS 213). It is the seat of the culture of life, as opposed to the so-called “culture of death.” In it, the first habits of respect and care for life are cultivated, “such as the proper use of things, order and cleanliness, respect for the local ecosystem” (ibid.). It is also “the place of integral formation,” where the various dimensions of the person unfold. In the family one learns the small gestures of courtesy that help to build a culture of shared life.

In Amoris Laetitia the pontiff affirms that the family is “the protagonist of an integral ecology” (AL 277); it is “a place of support, of accompaniment, of guidance” (AL 260); it is capable of ensuring a basic education (cf. AL 263); it is the “the first school of human values, where we learn the wise use of freedom” (AL 274); it is the “primary setting for socialization, since it is where we first learn to relate to others, to listen and share, to be patient and show respect, to help one another and live as one” (AL 276).

The educational commitment of parents is not merely “a task or a burden,” but an essential and irreplaceable right and duty that can be supported and supplemented, but never supplanted by other institutions, not even by the state, which is merely subsidiary (cf. AL 84).

Among the elements that can help parents carry out their mission well, the pope suggests that they show their children affection, good example, balance, loving respect, active gestures, engage in educational dialogue, practice loving correction. He recommends nurturing human sensitivity in the face of situations of illness (cf. AL 277). He warns about the intrusion of media technologies into family life (cf. AL 278). He encourages parents to orient their children and make them aware of situations of risk, preparing them to face possible challenges. To those who experience difficulty in controlling their children’s movements, Francis reminds them that “The real question, then, is not where our children are physically, or whom they are with at any given time, but rather where they are existentially, where they stand in terms of their convictions, goals, desires and dreams” (AL 261). The pope concludes the guidelines for families with an appeal to Christian communities to support them in their mission (cf. CV 247).

Educational pact and new education

In the encyclicals and apostolic exhortations of Francis, mention is made only once of the rupture of the educational pact. In Amoris Laetitia it is stated that unfortunately “a rift has opened up between the family and society, between the family and the school; the educational pact today has been broken and thus the educational alliance between society and the family is in crisis” (AL 84).

But in many speeches and video messages, the pope has recalled that “the educational pact has been broken because this social participation in education is lacking.”[16] One consequence is the selectivity imposed on education, whereby preference is given to the most gifted and others are excluded.[17] This rupture is so serious that there is no way to repair it, because the bodies that should be allies in the educational project – society, the family, social institutions – have abdicated their responsibilities, leaving them to educators, who are often overworked and poorly recognized.[18]

The proposal for educational renewal that Francis suggests in various statements – from 2015 onward – starts from the conviction that education, in addition to the details  already highlighted, is an act of hope. It is a dynamic reality, the pope emphasizes: “We know the transforming power of education: to educate is to invest in and give the present the hope that breaks the determinisms and fatalisms with which the selfishness of the strong, the conformism of the weak and the ideology of the utopian want to impose themselves so often as the only possible way.”[19]

In addition, education is “the natural antidote to individualistic culture” because it is capable of embracing diversity not as a threatening or destabilizing factor, but rather as “a blessing for one’s own identity.”[20] In this way, it can give rise to a culture of dialogue, encounter, fraternity and inclusion.

The interdependence that exists between the human environment and nature prompts Francis to emphasize the need for an integral ecological education that promotes an alliance between humanity and the environment, at the “various levels of ecological equilibrium, establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God” (LS 210). The dynamic of this educational approach does not privilege content, but a lifestyle based on contemplation and caring for nature.

This conception of education must translate into an ecological citizenship capable of stimulating the conversion of society from its current selfish and quarrelsome condition to one that is harmonious and in solidarity with its members and the environment. To this end, Francis suggests offering young people “a wide range of life experiences and learning processes.”[21] He proposes an integral formation attentive to the context, to the surrounding reality, and capable of grasping the challenges facing humanity. Therefore, he asks educators if they are capable of persuading  their students not to disconnect from the reality that surrounds them, not to become uninterested in what happens around them, because “they need to be taken out of the classroom: their minds need to be taken out of the classroom, their hearts need to be taken out of the classroom.”[22] In the apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit, Francis defines “outgoing schools and universities” as those that make their own the task of proclamation, the culture of encounter, and the option for the poor  (cf. CV 222).

Education thus renewed in meaning keeps in mind the context and discovers there the social and existential boundaries to which it must render its service and within which it is called to promote broad inclusion.[23] To educators who remain skeptical or reluctant about such an outreach to the boundaries the pope says: “What is the worst temptation arising from wars today? Walls. ‘Defend yourself, put up walls.’ The worst failure of an educator would be to educate within walls, to educate within the walls of a selective culture, the walls of a culture of security, the walls of a social sector that presides and does not advance.”[24]

Francis suggests that  education in fraternity be introduced into the educational processes  because it is contempt of fraternity that has led to the development of the culture of waste, selfishness, of considering others as rivals or enemies. As well as  being a moral duty, fraternity is an element of identity; it is constitutive of humanity.

In order for the dream of the new education to become reality, Francis exhorts educators not to close themselves off to new perspectives, to bold educational proposals.[25] He presents various elements to shape a new type of education that succeeds in producing the fruits that humanity and the world need. In his writings and statements the expression “integral or multidimensional formation” often recurs: “We must try to integrate the language of the head with the language of the heart and the language of the hands. Let a student think what he feels and what he does, feel what he thinks and what he does, do what he feels and what he thinks. Total integration.”[26] The most important issues that educational processes, formal and informal, must consider are: 1) education to interiority and transcendence; 2) integral or multidimensional formation; 3) interreligious dialogue; 4) education in integral ecology and sober lifestyles; 5) interdisciplinarity; 6) culture of dialogue, encounter, fraternity.

The dynamics of the educational process must make room for the life experiences and learning processes of the students. [27] Listen to them and dialogue with them, because “it is first and foremost they who remind us of the urgency of that intergenerational solidarity that has sadly been lacking in recent years.”[28] Since the new education is offered to a generation in change, as is the world today, it must in turn change and  listen to the voice and questions of young people, who “have much to offer with their enthusiasm, their commitment and their thirst for truth.”[29]

The pope also looks at teamwork, because education is never the work of one person or institution alone. It should abandon exclusivity and become the responsibility of all and the focal point of the care of the family, the Churches and members of society.[30]

In view of a new model of humanity, the educational mission Francis proposes is concerned with the quality of the work it does, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4. The pontiff does not resign himself to tolerate the ills of humanity and the environment and affirms that “our future cannot be division, the impoverishment of the faculties of thought and imagination, of listening, of dialogue and mutual understanding.”[31]

People and the world can change, but those who really want to succeed must commit themselves to “radically change our usual logic. […] The first indispensable principle for the construction of a new humanism is to educate people to a new way of thinking, that can reconcile unity and diversity, equality and freedom, identity and otherness.”[32] “Today’s choices will affect future  generations.”[33]

In the current situation of the world, “we need an ‘emergency education,’ we need to focus on ‘informal education,’ because formal education has been impoverished due to the legacy of positivism.”[34] So, the pope urges educators to open new horizons, to create new models of human life, of progress, of economy. To this end, Francis himself has launched an unprecedented initiative: the Global Compact on Education. He gives a solemn justification for it: “In history, there are moments when it is necessary to make foundational decisions, which give not only an imprint to our way of life, but especially a definite position in the light of possible future scenarios. In the present health  crisis,  – fraught with discouragement and bewilderment – we believe that this is the time to make a global educational pact.”[35]

Francis’ call for a global educational pact resonates as “enough” of the present situation and a “war cry”: “We need to break this pattern.”[36] “What is needed, then, is the courage of a real and radical reversal of course.”[37] In fact, “the educational pact must not be a simple ordering; it must not be a ‘stitching together’ of the positivisms we received from an Enlightenment education. It must be revolutionary.”[38]

The new education requires educators capable of developing an ecological ethic based on pedagogical principles that help growth in solidarity, responsibility and care based on compassion.

Conclusion

Regarding education, Pope Francis is strongly convinced that it has the potential to transform people and the world. It is the absence or lack of educational initiatives that have caused humanity to lose its sense of fraternity and respect for the environment, to become enclosed in selfishness and to practice a culture of waste. This is an intolerable situation that must be reversed. In this sense, education is a force  for liberation.

For this reason, the pope vigorously denounces the current prevailing educational model, since it is obsolete and incapable of making an impact on current events, whether because of the prominence accorded to its  fragmentary content or because of a pedagogy detached from reality, which denies the value of experiences, diversity and dialogue, or because it excludes multidimensional formation and interdisciplinary reflection.

Education, whether formal or informal – Francis is not only looking at educational institutions – will contribute to  a model of progress and human life that respects persons and the Common Home. The restoration of humanity reconciled with itself and with creation will only be possible through the educational contribution  offered by the family, institutions and social partners. This is a possible scenario.


[1].    This study of Pope Francis’ view of education is based on six key documents of his pontificate: the encyclicals Laudato Si’ (LS) (May 24, 2015) and Fratelli Tutti (FT) (October 3, 2020) and the apostolic exhortations Evangelii Gaudium (EG) (November 24, 2013), Amoris Laetitia (AL) (March 19, 2016), Christus Vivit (CV) (March 25, 2019), and Querida Amazonia (QA) (February 2, 2020). No explicit references to education appear in the encyclical Lumen Fidei (LF) and the apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (GE). Also considered were 10 speeches and messages by Pope Francis to various groups.

[2].    Cf. Francis, Video message on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the “Federación Latinoamericana de Colegios de la Compañia de Jesús (FLACSI)”, June 10, 2021, in www.vatican.va

[3].    Id., Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, February 20, 2020.

[4].    Id., Address to Members of the Foundation “Gravissimum educationis”, June 25, 2018.

[5].    Id., Video message on the occasion of the meeting “Global compact on education”, October 15, 2020.

[6]  .  Id., Address to participants at the conference on “Education: the global compact”, February 7, 2020.

[7]  .  Id., Message to the 24th Inter-American Congress of Catholic Education, January 13-15, 2016.

[8]  .   Cf. ibid.

[9]  .  Id., Address to Participants in the World Congress sponsored by the Congregation for Catholic Education, November 21, 2015.

[10].   Here I return to some elements presented in L. F. Klein, Papa Francisco: La nueva educación y el Pacto educativo global, Lima, CPAL, 2021.

[11].   Cf. Francis, Address to the Seminar on “New Forms of Fraternity in Solidarity, Inclusion, Integration and Innovation”, February 5, 2020.

[12].   Cf. Id. , Address to participants at the conference on “Education: the global compact”, op. cit.

[13].   Id. , Video message to Participants at the OIEC World Congress, June 5-8, 2019.

[14].   Id., Address to the Participants in the World Congress sponsored by the Congregation for Catholic Education, op. cit.

[15].   Ibid.

[16].   Id., Address to participants at the conference on “Education: the global compact”, op. cit.

[17].   Cf. Id., Address to the participants in the world congress sponsored by the Congregation for Catholic Education, op. cit.

[18].   Id., Address at the Closing of the Fourth World Educational Congress of “Scholas occurrentes,” February 5, 2015.

[19].   Id., Video message on the occasion of the meeting “Global compact on education”, op. cit.

[20].   Congregation for Catholic Education, Global Compact on Education. Instrumentum laboris, October 15, 2020: “The Vision – 1. Unity of difference: a new thinking”.

[21].   Id., Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See for the Presentation of New Year’s Greetings, January 9, 2020.

[22].   Id., Meeting with the world of school and university, Quito, July 7, 2015.

[23].   Cfr Id. Videomessage to the participants to the World Congress of the OIEC, op. cit.

[24].   Cf. Id. Address at the Closing of the Fourth World Educational Congress of “Scholas Occurrentes”, op. cit.

[25].   Cf. Id., Message to the 24th Inter-American Congress of Catholic Education, op. cit.

[26].   Id., Address to participants at the conference on “Education: the global compact”, op. cit.

[27].   Cf. Id., Address to the Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See for the Presentation of the Greetings for the New Year, op. cit.

[28].   Congregation for Catholic Education, Global Compact on Education, op. cit.: “The Context – 1. The Breakdown of Intergenerational Solidarity”.

[29].   Id., Global Compact on Education, op. cit.: “The Vision – 2. The Relationship at the Center”.

[30].   Cf. Francis, Address to participants at the conference on “Education: the global compact”, op. cit.

[31].   Id., Video message on the occasion of the meeting “Global compact of education”, op. cit.

[32].   Congregation for Catholic Education, Global Compact on Education, op. cit.: “The Vision – 1. Unity in Difference: A New Thinking”.

[33].   Francis, Address to the members of the Foundation “Gravissimum Educationis”, op. cit.

[34].   Id., Address to the Participants in the World Congress sponsored by the Congregation for Catholic Education, op. cit.

[35].   Id., Videomessage on the occasion of the meeting “Global compact on education”, op. cit.

[36].   Id., Address to the Participants in the World Congress sponsored by the Congregation for Catholic Education, op. cit.

[37].   Congregation for Catholic Education, Global Compact on Education, op. cit., “Mission – 2. Tomorrow demands the best we have today”.

[38].   Francis, Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, op. cit.

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